Bailey hopes KXIP's dream run will continue in India

ABU DHABI: The team that raised a storm these last 15 days on the UAE leg of the IPL, winning all five of its matches, will now be back on familiar territory in India.
Initially, the George Bailey-led Kings XI Punjab found impetus through the batting. Lately, it's their bowling that's making them look a class apart. No wonder, the grin on Bailey's face is constantly widening.
"If you want to be a good team, you can't rely too heavily on one or the other (batting or bowling). If you look at the successful T20 sides in IPL, they generally have a well-balanced side. It's not often that you play the perfect game where the batters fire and bowlers fire - that's just the nature of the game," Bailey says.
This newly-knit Punjab side - barring Manan Vohra and David Miller, who were retained - has gelled in alien conditions. Each of the three venues were different, with varying pitches and size of grounds.
"What's really pleasing about the bowling group is that they are doing well individually and bowling well as a group. I don't know if that's visible from the outside, but we can really feel it on the field and that's really special," says Bailey.
Bailey, however, refuses to wear the 'favourites' tag. "Who's calling us the favourites? Media? As long as you're not sitting in our team meetings, I won't worry. Sanjay (Bangar) is focused on how we play and not the results," he says.
Also, the formidable Chennai Super Kings are not far behind them in the points table and teams like the Royal Challengers Bangalore may never be far enough if their batting begins to click.
"It's about consistency of performance and knowing that your guys are ready to perform when they are most under pressure. So we take stock, reload and relaunch when we reach India," Bailey said.